


Wounds and Letters

by minnies_musings



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Cannon Era, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, You guys I managed not to kill Laf holy moly, alcohol mention, blood mention, injured lafayette, protective hercules
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-10-11 21:54:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10475256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minnies_musings/pseuds/minnies_musings
Summary: While working as a spy, Hercules Mulligan receives a letter from Hamilton that sends him scrambling out to the American camp despite the danger it may bring onto himself. When someone very dear to him is injured and asking for him, the last thing Hercules wants to do is to disappoint.





	

When he’d first read the letter, Hercules had very nearly torn a hole into the very jacket he was meant to be repairing. Very aware of the issues that would come of further damaging the garment, he set down the scissors he’d been using and instead picked up the letter that had been dropped on his desk moments before. While it had taken him awhile to decode both the code and Hamilton’s hand-writing, the message now rang out clearly.

_Gil’s been shot. Wound is bad. Asking for you._

“Shot…” Hercules breathed, finding himself unable to look away from the only nine words on the page that held any meaning.

“What was that, Mulligan?”

Hercules cursed and shoved the letter hurriedly into his bag, turning his attention back to the still ripped jacket just as his employer rounded the corner. “Nothing, sir. Just…thinking out loud.” He said with a warm, innocent smile. This answer seemed to satisfy the senior tailor, and before long Hercules was alone once again in the shop. He debated writing a letter in response before deciding this would take too long.

As he finished patching the jacket, he made up his mind to ride out to the camp after dark. If Alexander said the wound was bad, then it most definitely was _bad_. And there was no way he was going to just sit around fixing clothing when Laf…his Laf was asking for him. Dangerous or not, his mind was made up.

Even though the shop was already technically closed, Hercules lingered, taking care of small tasks to keep his hands and mind occupied while he waited for it to grow dark. Once the sun vanished and the streets emptied somewhat, he finally stepped out and locked the door behind himself. He waved hello to several people as he walked down the street, fighting the urge to race to the stable and leap onto the first horse he saw. Nothing would say ‘I’m hiding something’ more than a frantic race to a horse in the growing darkness.

So he made his way leisurely towards the stable, and even when he was mounted on the back of a steady mare, he kept the animals’ pace slow and even. Once they were well out of the city though, Hercules wasted no time in spurring the animal into a gallop, steering them towards the American camp. He just prayed that Alexander’s letter had found him in time.

His arrival in the camp stirred up a commotion, people leaving their tents with weapons drawn. Perhaps racing full speed into the middle of camp in the dead of night hadn’t been a great idea. But at this point in time scaring people was the least of his worries. Hercules dismounted the horse and handed the reins off to the first person who dared approach him before pushing his way into the crowd.

“Mulligan…Hercules!” It took him a moment to notice Alexander’s small frame weaving deftly through the group of soldiers who had not yet returned grumbling to their beds. Before Hercules had the chance to speak, Alexander had grabbed his arm and had started to steer him towards a large tent on the edge of the camp.

“How is he?” Hercules finally managed to ask once they stopped outside the tent, the sounds of whimpers and groaning reaching his ears. The infirmary, no doubt.

“He’s…been better.” Alexander replied honestly, looking up with a small shrug. “Doctors are saying he could go either way.” Catching the look of horror on Hercules’ face, he quickly changed his tone. “But knowing our Gil, he’ll be back on his feet in no time.” Alexander managed a weak smile, lightly nudging Hercules’ side. He could tell the immigrant was trying to help – and he certainly appreciated it – but he couldn’t help but fear the worse.

“Thank you, Hamilton I…I’d like to see him alone though.”

Alexander nodded and placed his hand on Hercules’ shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze before vanishing back into the camp. Mulligan hesitated a moment longer outside of the tent before taking a deep breath, readying himself for the worst, and pushing his way through the flaps. The first thing that hit him was the smell; a strange mixture of alcohol, vomit, and blood. The strength of it nearly made him gag, but he steeled himself and continued on to where he could see a doctor bent over one of the beds.

“Excuse me, I was wondering if you could…” He trailed off as the doctor held up a blood-stained hand to shush him. Hercules waited impatiently, drumming his fingers on his belt as the doctor finished stitching up a large gash that ran the length of a young man’s leg. The soldier seemed completely oblivious to everything around him, obviously doped up on _something_. Hercules still couldn’t help but pity the boy. Because that’s what he really was, just a boy fighting a war that he had no right fighting in.

“Alright, what is it?” The doctor demanded, wiping his hands on his pants as he stood. His eyes flicked over Mulligan, searching for any sign of injury or illness.

“Gilbert…I mean, the Marquis de Lafayette. Where is he?” Hercules asked before he was kicked out of the infirmary for being ‘too uninjured’.

The doctor gestured to an area of the tent that had been sectioned off with blankets and tarps, several beds concealed behind it. Hercules nodded and slipped away, scanning the faces of each of the men as he passed them by, desperately searching for Gil. He found the Frenchman in one of the furthest beds, blood-stained bandages wound tightly around his middle and a thin sheen of sweat coating his brow. Hercules’ breathing caught in his throat at the sight of the man, and he hesitantly approached the bed. He released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding when Lafayette’s eyes fluttered open, distant and hazy even as they settled on Hercules’ features.

“ _C’est vraiment vous?_ ” Lafayette asked, a small smile tugging at his lips despite the pain in his voice.

“ _O-oui_ , yes of course.” Hercules said, sinking to his knees next to the bed and lacing his fingers together with Lafayette’s stunned by how cold and weak the Frenchman’s hand felt.

“You…should not have come. It is dangerous.”

“Hamilton said you were asking for me. I couldn’t disappoint you.” This earned a hoarse chuckle from Lafayette, though the sound quickly dissolved into a pained whimper. Hercules winced and hesitated a split second before pushing himself up and sitting lightly beside the Frenchman, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pulling him close.

“ _Ché_ _ri?_ ”

“Hush…” Hercules hummed, pressing a brief kiss to Lafayette’s temple and smoothing down his hair. “Rest, Gil. You certainly need it, you look like hell.”

“You always know how to make me feel better, _mon gentil géant_ _._ ” He murmured with a faint smile, letting his head rest against Hercules’ shoulder, struggling to keep his eyes open. Soon they slid closed despite his best efforts, and he shifted slightly to be closer to Hercules’ warmth.

When the doctor came by a while later to check the bandages concealing Lafayette’s would, he found the Frenchman curled up under a sleeping Hercules’ chin, the tailor’s arms wrapped protectively around his injured companion.

The doctor didn’t have the heart to wake either of them quite yet.

**Author's Note:**

> Yo so this was actually a request from a very wonderful anon over at the tumblr dot com website where I also spend a lot of my time. Hopefully they see this and hopefully it's what you were hoping for!


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